2024-07-27 11:13:16
The celebration of the Albiceleste after winning the Copa América has caused a real scandal, leading FIFA and the French Football Federation to take action on the matter.
The FIFA opened an investigation against the players of the Argentine National Football Team as a result of the intonation of Racist chants against the French national team during the celebrations on the team bus, after winning the 2024 Copa América final.
In addition, Chelsea also opened disciplinary proceedings against its midfielder Enzo Fernández, who recorded and broadcast the controversial video live on his social networks.
The scandal over racist chants in celebration of Argentina players
In a video that quickly went viral on social media, several players from the Argentine National Team appear singing a racist chant against the French on the team bus.
“They play for France, but they come from Angola, how cute he is, they are going to run, he is a transvestite eater like that fucking Mbappé. His old lady is Nigerian, his old man is Cameroonian, but his nationality is French.“This is part of what the song that Argentine fans sang during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar says.
During the live broadcast of Enzo Fernández’s account -Chelsea midfielder- you can hear “They play for France, but they come from Angola…”, until the video abruptly cuts off when one of the footballers says “cut the live stream.”
This is what FIFA said about the scandal
In a statement, the football governing body said: “FIFA has been made aware of a video circulating on social media, and the incident is being investigated“.
Along these lines, they indicated that “FIFA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination, wherever they may come from.including players, fans and those responsible.”
France’s complaint against Argentina to FIFA
The French Football Federation (FFF) announced on Tuesday that it had taken the controversial case to FIFA to file a complaint against the Argentine team.
In a statement, the FFF stated: “Given the seriousness of the demonstrations, which are contrary to the values of sport and human rights, the president of the FFF decided to directly question his Argentine counterpart (AFA) and FIFA, and file a complaint with the courts for offensive words of a racial and discriminatory nature.”
The rift between Enzo Fernández and his teammates at Chelsea
Although Enzo Fernandez managed to cut the live broadcast before intoning even more racist and transphobic phrases, his French Chelsea teammates, Axel Disasi, Malo Gusto y Wesley Fofana they unfollowed him on Instagram.
In addition, Fofana reposted the controversial post on his X account and wrote: “Football in 2024: Uninhibited racism.”
Faced with this situation, the Argentine midfielder published a message of apology on his Instagram account. “I want to sincerely apologize “for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebrations. The song includes very offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words,” he began by saying.
“I oppose discrimination in all its forms and I apologize for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations. That video, that moment, those words, do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I am very sorry,” he added.
Despite the public apologies issued by Fernandez, Chelsea announced a disciplinary procedure against him.
“Chelsea Football Club absolutely considers Any form of discriminatory and racist behaviour is unacceptable. We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive club “where people of all cultures, communities and identities feel welcome,” the club said in a statement.
“We recognize and appreciate the Public apology from our player and we will use this as an opportunity to educate. The Club has started a internal disciplinary procedure“, they said.
This procedure could lead to an exemplary measure against Enzo Fernández, in order to prevent these situations from continuing to occur.